Paws-itive Thoughts

This past weekend, we had the joy of taking care of this 9 month old puppy, Mia. It was a fun, exhausting, loving, exhausting experience! Did I mention that it was exhausting?! Puppies can be like that! We’ve written about puppies before in our blog post “3 Ways to the Best Puppy“, and we want to delve into this topic more. Puppies are just like little humans. They need A LOT of attention. If you’re contemplating getting a puppy, make sure that you have a lot of time to devote to their care…and not just during the day. All puppies should be crate trained and/or confined into a certain area of the home, for example, the laundry room, especially when you first bring them home. The goal is for them to be able to be alone without whining or crying, or becoming overly stressed. That way you can go to work, go to the grocery store, and basically live your life! Crate training is important for you to be able to transport the puppy to the Vet in the car. A puppy that can free roam throughout the home can get into a lot of trouble, even if the owners are at home! Shoes can be chewed up, or...

Easter is a time to make memories with your family. This does not include running to the vet while your dog is about to get sick. Here are four hazards to watch out for this Easter season. Easter Lily-Did you know that if your cat gets into an Easter Lily it can be highly toxic? Make sure to keep it away from them, either on a counter they can’t jump on, or not in your home. Easter Grass-As with any type of tinsel, this can cause severe digestive issues if your dog or cat gets into Easter Grass. When you are doing easter baskets make sure to put your animals in another room while you and your children are having fun. Chocolate– This is very important to watch out for. Those chocolate ears are the best though, right? Well, your dog might think so for the first five minutes until they get a really bad belly ache. Chocolate can kill a dog if they eat too much of it and don’t get the correct care as soon as possible. To mitigate this issue, put your chocolate in an area where your dog can’t sniff it out in the kitchen. Xylitol– We know that your dog can be a bit...

Here is what you need to do DAY ONE to have the best puppy! Have you been pulled down the street by your dog yanking your arm from the end of the leash? Does your dog bark like crazy over nothing? These are just a couple of examples that people get to deal with in adult dogs when these three items are not followed from the very beginning. Take your puppy to low stimulating places and let them socialize. Most puppies aren’t ready to go to the dog park at such a young age because they haven’t had their immunizations yet. A dog park is also a VERY stimulating place which can make your dog very excited or nervous. Instead, take them for a ride in a car, or a walk down the sidewalk! Daily walks! This is so incredibly important. We have had clients say that they have poorly behaved dogs. This is especially true for puppies ages 2 months to 2 years old. The usual reason is that the puppy has pent up energy. When you go for a walk, make sure to do a good 30-minute walk, both for you and your dog. A happy puppy is a result of walking off puppy energy. Buy your puppy...

Apples are another fantastic treat for your dog! In a perfect world, it is best to start your dog out with a piece of apple when they are a puppy. This allows them to not only get used to the taste, but you can also start training them for a piece of apple. If you take off the skin of the apple to start that is even better. Puppies are growing, this includes their intestines. One of our clients, Blu, is absolutely obsessed with apples now. He is only nine months old yet absolutely adores them. Anytime I slice an apple he is right next to me ready for a piece! The other night Blu was outside playing and I was slicing an apple inside. Within seconds he came inside and sat down right by my feet ready for that sweet and beautiful piece of apple. Apples are a perfect alternative treat for any dog. As with anything, balance is everything. Don’t give too many treats; otherwise, your dog will not want to eat any of their food. Alternatives are also great because many treats today on the shelves are extraordinarily expensive for the package size and many have added sugar that can be a detriment to your dog’s...

So one time, I was day dog-sitting two sick dogs of a regular client, Mia and Sienna. Before I left my house, I packed a cold pizza lunch (one of my favorites) and soda. I left for the house and spent the morning reading, drawing, and studying without incident. Lunchtime rolled around and the pizza starred calling to me. I got up and extracted my lunch from the fridge and set it down on the kitchen counter. Just then, another call came to me that may or may not have been related to the empty can of Dr Pepper on the table. I left the slice sitting on the counter in its plastic bag and headed for the bathroom. I wasn’t gone two minutes, but when I came out, Mia, the quieter of the two dogs, was huddled in the laundry room with a mask of impending doom and guilt fitted on her face as she looked up at me. I continued to the kitchen to find Sienna happily inhaling the last of my lovely pizza. To this day, I have no idea how a short beagle-mix was able to nick the pizza bag off the tall kitchen counter (Michaela’s note: it is about 3 feet off the ground)...

Why would you even want to feed your dog those natural, long, skinny green things? Well, first they help with your dogs digestion. It keeps them regular shall we say. And it also would be something where if your dog were in the wild, they would find vegetables and probably not grains. So keeping your dogs diet as natural as possible would definitely be preferable for any dog. Green beans work as excellent treats that will make their mouth water. Rather than giving your dog those yucky, sugary treats….green beans could be the answer!As always though, talk to your vet, reason things out but always make sure your dog is eating as healthy and natural as they can. To find out more about Green Beans in your dogs diet you can go here: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/ktudor/2012/apr/green_bean_diet_for_dogs-14140...